Winding device



Feb 30, 1937. N. H. N'YE 9 5? WINDING DEVICE Original Filed April 30,1931 ATTORNEYS.

Patented 3.9, 1937 PATENT orrlca WINDING DEVICE Norman H. Nye, CuyahogaFalls, Ohio, assignor to The Vaughn Machinery Company, Ouyahoga Falls,Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Original application April 30, 1931, SerialNo.

533,893, now Patent No. 2,016,509, dated October 8, 1935. Divided andthis application May 28, 1935, Serial No. 23,884

Claims.

This invention relates to winding devices and more particularly to theprovision of improved devices of this kind, wherein the strand or stripof material being wound will have either a. constant lineal speed or acontrolled variable speed.

This application is a division of my original application Serial No.533,893, filed April 30, 1931, now Patent No. 2,016,509, issued October8, 1935.

Winding devices have been constructed here- 10 tofore embodying manydifferent forms of governing mechanisms, whereby the speed of thewinding means is regulated in response to the tension or slackness oithe material being wound. In the main, these devices have beenimpractical or unsatisfactory because the governing mechanism requiresvery careful adjustment to suit the strength of the material, and if thegoverning mechanism is not correctly adjusted the tension to which thematerial is subjected will be excessive, or the speed of the windingmeans will not be correctly regulated In my winding device, I propose togovem the winding means in such a way that the speed of the latter willbe correctly regulated, regardless of variations occurring in thetension of the material being wound.

Accordingly, it may be stated that as an object of my invention I aim toprovide a novel form of winding device, in which the speed of rotationof the spool, or like winding means, will be automatically regulated inresponse to the lineal speed of the material.

Another object of v my invention is to provide a device of the kindmentioned, in which the speed of rotation of the winding means isregulated by means actuated in response to a speed difierential betweena member driven by the material and a member driven from the source ofpower which actuates the winding means.

Another object of my invention is to provide a device of the kindmentioned, in which the speed of rotation of the winding means isgoverned by controlling the delivery of power thereto by control meanswhich is responsive to changes in the lineal speed of the material.

A further object of this invention is to provide winding apparatus inwhich the arbor or spool is driven at variable speeds through a clutch,and wherein the operation of the clutch is controlled by relativetraversing movement between coopv crating threaded members one of whichis driven at a speed substantially proportional to the speed or thestrand and the other of which is driven at a substantially constantspeed.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent from thefollowing description when taken in conjunction with the accompanyingsheet of drawings, in which,

Fig. 1 is an elevational view, partly in section, of a winding deviceembodying my invention, and

Fig. 2 is a. partial transverse sectional view of the clutch asindicated by line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

In the drawing, to which detailed reference will presently be made, Ihave shown winding devices in which the-speed of rotation of the windingmeans is regulated by means responsive to the lineal speed of thematerial, and although in il- 'lustrating my invention I have shown onlyone such device, it will be understood, of course, that the principle ofmy invention may be embodied in various winding mechanisms includingthose used in conjunction with machines for drawing wire, or withmachines for performing annealing, tinning, enameling or otheroperations.

In Fig. 1 I have represented generally a machine lil, such as a wiredrawing machine, from which the strand H is being delivered for windingon suitable rotatable winding means, here shown in the form of a spool[2. As the strand is wound upon the spool, it may be laid or distributedthereon by means of the distributing device l3. No detailed descriptionof this device is believed to be necessary, since any one of the manyavailable devices of this kind may be used.

The spool I2 is removably mounted upon a suitable arbor or carrier 14which is secured to the drive shaft l5. This drive shaft is supported insuitable bearings 16 mounted in the casing l1, and is adapted to bedriven through the clutch mechanism I8 from any suitable source-ofpower, such as the electric motor IS. The clutch I8 is of the type knownas a slip clutch, and although any suitable clutch construction may beused, the device should be such that the power transmitted to the spoolthrough the belt 20' and the pulley 2| may be readily controlled so asto regulate the speed at which the spool is rotated.

The clutch construction herein illustrated includes a clutch element orhub 22 keyed to the shaft l5 and having a plurality of spaced frictiondiscs 23 carried thereon, and a second clutch element'or drum 24 alsohaving a plurality of friction discs 25 carried thereon and arrangedbetween, and in alternate relation with, the friction discs 23. Theclutch element 24 is constructed with a sleeve portion 26 which isjournaled upon the shaft I5 and to which the pulley 2| is keyed orotherwise secured. The power transmitted through the clutch is regulatedby varying the friction between the sets of friction discs, and for thispurpose I provide a disc compressing member 28. This compressing membermay be rotatable with the shaft |5 but is supported thereon so as tohave limited axial movement thereof. An actuating rod 29 is slidablymounted in the shaft 5, having its inner end operably connected with thecompresslngmember 28 by means of the pin 28, and at its outer end beingprovided with a rotatable contact button 30.

It will be seen from the arrangement of clutch structure just describedthat when a force is applied to the bu -ton 30 to press the sameinwardly toward the spool 2, the friction between the clutch discs isincreased, causing a decrease in the amount of slippage therebetween andcorrespondingly increasing the speed of rotation of the spool. Whenpressure upon the button 30 is reduced or released, the friction betweenthe clutm discs is also reduced, with the result that the amount ofslippage between these discs is increased and the speed of rotation ofthe spool is correspondingly decreased.

It should be stated that as the driving motor I9 I may employ anelectric motor having a substantially constant speed characteristic andwhich may be mounted as shown in Patent No. 1,990,834, granted February19, 1935, and vary the speed of rotation of the spool |2 by varying thetransmission of power thereto. That is to say, I would permit the motorHi to be operated at substantially constant speed and vary the speed ofthe spool |2 by regulating the amount of power transmitted thereto fromthe motor. Instead of providing a separate motor for driving the spoolas shown in Fig. 1, the spool may be s driven in the same way i; om thedriving means of the machine I 0, which operates at substantial- I lyconstant speed.

Accordingly, to regulate the speed at which the spool I2 is driven byvarying the amount of power transmitted through the clutch, as justexplained,

I provide means for actuating the clutch in response to the lineal speedof the material being wound. To this end I employ a sheave or drum 32,which is secured to a shaft or spindle 33 and around which the strand IIis wrapped. This shaft is rotatably mounted in, and extends through asecond shaft 34 which is rotatably supported in bearings 35 mounted insuitable supporting means, such as the bearing bracket 36 secured to thecasing of the machine It). At the end of the spindle 33 opposite that towhich the drum 32 is secured, I provide a helically threaded screwportion 31 which cooperates with a similarly threaded nut 38. This nutis secured to a pulley 39, which in turn is secured to the shaft 34 andis adapted to be driven by any suitable means, preferably by some meansoperating at substantially constant speed, which might be an individualmotor or a part of the machine I0. In this instance the pulley 39 isshown as being driven from the motor |9 by the belt 39'.

It will be seen from this arrangement that, as the strand I is taken upby the spool I2, the drum 32 and the spindle 33 to which it is securedwill be rotated at a speed corresponding with the rate at which thestrand is being wound. At the same time, the pulley 39 and the nut 38secured thereto will be rotated in the same direction by the belt 39'.If the speed of rotation of the spindle 33 and that of the nut 38 areexactly equal, there will be no relative movement therebetween. In otherwords, if the speeds of these two members are equal, there will be notendency for the screw portion 31 to travel through the nut in eitherdirection, but if the spool |2 tends to take up the strand at a ratewhich will give the spindle 33 a faster speed of rotation than the nut38, the spindle will travel through the nut in a lefthand direction, asseen in Fig. 1. If the spool |2 tends to run too slowly, the spindle 33will travel through the nut 38 in the opposite direction to press thecontact button 40 against the contact member 4|.

To transmit motion from the speed responsive device just described tothe clutch |8 so as to regulate the speed of the spool accordingly, Iprovide a rod 42 on one end of which the contact member 4| is slidablyand rotatably mounted and at its opposite end is pivotally connected tothe arm 43 of the bell crank lever 44. Suitable guiding means may beprovided for the rod 42, such as the guide bracket 45, which is carriedby the casing of the machine Ill. A rod 46 connects the arm 41 of thebell crank lever 44 with the arm 48 of a clutch actuating lever 49. Thelever 49 is pivotally supported adjacent the clutch |8 by means of thebracket 50, and is provided with an actuating arm or finger 5| whichengages the rotatable button 30. It will be seen from the arrangement oflinkage just described that when the rod 42 is moved toward the right,as seen in Fig. l, the clutch pin 29 will be moved inwardly to increasethe friction between the clutch discs and thereby increase the speed ofrotation of the spool.

Since the transmission of power by the clutch l8 depends upon thepressure applied to the clutch discsrather than the extent of movementof these members, I provide a yielding connection between the member 4|and the rod 42, so that changes transmitted through the linkage to theclutch will be in the nature of relatively slowly acting pressurechanges rather than as direct or sudden movements, such as would betransmitted through rigidly connected linkage, and would result insudden changes in the speed of the spool and probably in breakage of thematerial being wound. This yielding connection comprises a coil spring52 having one end in engagement with, and centered upon, the contactmember 4| and its other end in engagement with and centered upon, acollar 53. The spring 52 is normally under slight compression so as toalways hold the member 4| against the button 40. The collar 53 is pinnedor otherwise secured to the rod 42, so that upon movement of the contactmember 4|, changes occurring in the compression of the spring 52 will betransmitted to this rod and through the linkage to the clutch. Movementof the spindle 33 toward the left, as seen in Fig. l, or in other words,in a clutch releasing direction, will be limited by the engagement ofthe button 40 with the nut 38, and movement of the spindle in theopposite, or clutch actuating direction, is limited by the hub 54 of thedrum 32 engaging the outer end of the shaft 34.

It will now be readily seen from the winding device disclosed, that bymy invention I have provided novel mechanism of this kind in which thespeed of the spool, or similar winding means, is regulated in responseto a speed differential between cooperating members of a control device,

Since one of these cooperating members is driven by the material beingwound, it will be seen that the speed of rotation of the spool will becorrectly regulated in response to the lineal speed of the material andwholly independently of variations occurring in the tension thereof.

While I have illustrated and described the device of my invention in adetailed manner, it should be understood, however, that I do not intendto limit myself to the precise details and arrangements of structureillustrated and described, but regard my invention as including suchchanges and modifications as do not involve a departure from the spiritof the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a device of the character described, the combination of rotatablemeans upon which material is adapted to be wound, means for transmittingpower to said rotatable means to drive the latter, and means forcontrolling the transmission of power to said rotatable means to therebyregulate the speed of the latter including cooperating screw and nutmembers, one of said members being actuated by the material,

, and means for driving the other of said mom-- bers at substantiallyconstant speed.

2. In a device of the character described, the combination of rotatablemeans upon which material is adapted to be wound, means for transmittingpower to said rotatable means to drive the latter, and means forcontrolling the transmission of power to said rotatable means toregulate the speed of the latter, said control means comprising arotatable threaded member, means for driving said rotatable threadedmember, a second rotatable threaded member driven by the material andcooperating with the first mentioned threaded member, and means actuatedin response to the speed differential between said threaded members.

3. In a device of the character described, the combination of rotatablemeans upon which a strand is adapted to be wound, means for transmittingpower from a power source to said rotatable means to drive the latter,and means for controlling the transmission of power to said rotatablemeans to regulate the speed of the latter. said control means comprisinga pair of cooperating rotatable threaded members one of which is drivenat a speed substantially proportional to the speed of the strand, andmeans actuated in response to relative traversing movement of thethreaded members.

4. In a device of the character described, the combination of rotatablemeans upon which a strand is adapted to be wound, means for transmitting power from a power source to said rotatable means to drive thelatter, and means for controlling the transmission of power to saidrotatable means to regulate the speed of the latter, said control meanscomprising a rotatable threaded member driven from said power source, arotatable threaded member driven by the strand and cooperating with thefirst threaded memher, and means actuated in response to relativetraversing movement of the threaded members.

5. In a device of the character described, the combination of rotatablemeans upon which a strand is adapted to be wound. means for supplying astrand to be wound. a source of power for the strand supplying means andsaid rotatable means, and means controlling the transmission of power tosaid rotatable means .toregulate the speed of the latter comprisingcooperating threaded members one or which is driven at ratesubstantially proportional to said supplying means and the other ofwhich is driven at a rate substantially proportional to the speed of thestrand.

6. In a device of the character described,

the combination of rotatable means upon which a strand is adapted to bewound, means for supplying a strand to be wound, a source of power forthe strand supplying means and said rotatable means, means controllingthe'transmission of power to said rotatable means to regulate the speedof the latter comprising cooperating threaded members one of which isdriven at a rate substantially proportional to said supplying means andthe other of which is driven at a rate substantially proportional to thespeed of the strand, and means actuated in response to relativetraversing movement of the threaded members.

7. In a device of the character described, the combination of rotatablemeans upon which a strand is adapted to be wound, means for supplying astrand to be wound, a source of power for the strand supplying means andsaid rotatable means, a clutch for transmitting power to said rotatablemeans at a variable rate to vary the speed of the latter, cooperatingthreaded members one of which is driven at a rate substantiallyproportional to said supplying means and the other of which is driven ata rate substantially proportional to the speed of the strand, and aclutch operating member actuated in response to relative traversingmovement of the threaded members.

8. In a device of the character described, the combination of rotatablemeans upon which a strand is adapted to be wound, means for driving saidrotatable means at variable speeds, and means controlling the speed ofoperation of said rotatable means comprising a pair of cooperat ingrotatable threaded members, means for driving one of said members atsubstantially constant speed, means for driving the other member at aspeed substantially proportional to the speed of the strand, and meansactuated in response to relative traversing movement of the threadedmembers.

9. In a device of the character described, the combination of rotatablemeans upon which a strand is adapted to be wound, means for driving saidrotatable means at variable speeds includ ing a clutch, and meanscontrolling the speed of operation of said rotatable means comprising apair of cooperating rotatable threaded members, means for driving one ofsaid members at substantially constant speed, means for driving theother member at a speed substantially proportional to the speed of thestrand, and means actuated in response to relative traversing movementof the threaded members for operating said clutch.

10. In a device oi the character described, the combination of rotatablemeans upon which a strand is adapted to be wound, means for driving saidrotatable means at variable speeds including a clutch having membersoperable with relative slippage therebetween, a pair of cooperatingrotatable threaded members, means for driving-one of said members atsubstantially constant speed, means for driving the other member at aspeed substantially proportional to the speed of the strand, and meansactuated in response to relative traversing movement of said members forvarying the clutch slippage to thereby vary the speed of said rotatablemeans.

NORMAN H. NYE.

